Closed The Bond Of Fire (Harrier)

[Alori Sai]

Timestamp Fall 22nd 513 AV

Every since that fateful day when the God of fire came into her life, it had forever changed Alori. For a long time she hated him, hated that he entered her life and destroyed her world. But over time she slowly began to except it, whether it was because she started to understand, or simply because she looked to make sense of it all wasn't clear. But by the time she had returned to the city, the teen Avora had already found herself connected to the emotional surges from the people around her as well as her own.

Brash and outspoken as she had been before, the little huntress was more in tuned with her feelings now more than ever..or perhaps they had just been released and unbound. Whatever the reason, the girl had a new outlook on life and her passion to survive doubled. She soon turned to music, another way to express her emotions and in some ways, to draw the emotions of others out as well. Still to this day her thoughts on Ivak are clouded at best, but in time she hopes for absolution one way or the other.

The crack in the mountain was a place of interest to her. The strange place created after Ivak was freed from his prison, and since then people had come there to worship him. In truth, Alori wasn't sure why she was there, but she had decided to go days before, even if just to see the place where it all happened. The Avora settled down near the base, finding a rocky ledge to set on, she sat down and looked around. There was something peaceful about the place with ash white stones and a warmth reaching out from beneath the surface.

Alori closed her eyes, hands and arms gently cradling the guitar that she held close to her body as she started to play. She was getting better at it, being able to find the keys without having to look down. The teen smiled, fingers lightly trailing down the strings until they were in place and she started to pluck them.

"All this time I've been thinking I needed more"

"I've been doing all I could and even that wasn't enough"

"But then you came along, and my world was turned upside down"

"I was swept away, my soul lost in ambitions grace"

"My world was gone,"

"Everything I cared for without a trace"

"Now I know your pain, and I feel the fire"

"It urges me on, and burns within me"

"and even though all seems lost"

"I know I must go on"

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[Harrier]

The winds had been fierce since that noreaster passed the domain, leaving the area frigid and ice covered for two full days. The last vestiges of ice were just beginning to melt, though, leaving a pocked scene across the landscape of rockslides and mudslides alike, gouges in the terrain created when these masses of debris loosened beneath the ferocity of the storm to cut into the evergreen forests at the bases and middles of the mountains. It looked not unlike a warzone, honestly, though certainly not so bad as the results of the Djed Storm. Still, it had been a rough one.

Durveth flew lazy circles high over the volcano, savoring the warm winds coming off the mountain as she searched the ground far below for something of interest, preferably some kind of prey. But game had become increasingly more difficult to locate. The Endal had been forced to fly further and further for suitable food to begin the long task of stocking the stores for winter while ground hunters were coming across more and more dangerous situations. Bear, wolves, big cat were all in high numbers as if the alteration in the food sources had caused some upset in the normal balance they existed in. Hunters were reporting more frequent attacks by predators (both common, and uncommon), and many were not returning at all. The eagle hoped it would be able to find something.

She began to alter her course more towards the Bay where she could see whales jumping off one of the coves. The high-frequency calls were just barely audible from this altitude, but the number of jumps she could see suggested there were high numbers of the bayleen feeders at the cove. Her wings arched and she swooped that way, circling low over the mountain and casually looking upon the world from above.

It was as she passed the Crack that something caught her attention. It was a voice, small and barely discernible from this height. It called to the bird, alluring and haunting as the melody of a soul long troubled by life and the trials thrown upon it, and the perseverance to go on. Intrigued, the giant raptor altered her course again and began to circle amid the clouds, large eyes blinking in search of the figure who sung so sweet and pure.

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[Alori Sai]

Alori wasn't shy about many things, but her confidence in her musical ability was still slowly growing and she felt more at ease when she played by herself. The teen had performed in front of others a few times now, but it was when she was alone that she really could let go and release her emotions into her music and song. She hummed softly for a bit, recalling the words to her song within her mind while she continued to pinch the strings at the neck and run her fingers across those at the base.

She went off key a few times, switching to slower usage and trying to commit her fingers to finding the keys faster without having to look down to find them. Starting again, Alori plucked the first of the strings and restarted the keys from memory again. It was easier to location when she played slowly, her fingers glided from one to the others and she could find the cords without her fingers fumbling as much. It took her another moment to place the right keys, but once she had it, she continued, and sang from the point where she had left off.

"I'm still here"

"I'm alive"

"and I won't stop"

"I can't give up"

"It's my desire"

"Oh the fire "

Closing her eyes again Alori sang with her heart, letting her voice rang out and carrying with it all the emotions she felt inside. It may have sounded like screeching chirps to anyone near by, but in this vocal performance the girl was able to vent and cleanse her heart of all that had been weighting down on her for the past seasons and it felt great. She played faster now, fingers tripping over keys but she didn't stop, she was in the moment.

"I know you're near"

"I feel you inside"

"I don't have wings"

"But I will fly"

"I burn with your fire."

"Oh the fire"

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[Harrier]

The song was interesting, Durveth found, interesting enough to draw her from her heights even more and circle over the Crack where she'd found the source to be. Her eyes searched the ground below until she spotted the tiny red-head worshiping near the fissure Ivak had escaped from. Yet, it was not that which ultimately drew the bird in. It was the faint tremor of pebbles around the human, the barely perceptible quiver in the crack itself...

As active as the mountain had been already, the bird wondered wearisome if it was another groundquake. Durveth wasn't sure why she dove towards the little woman, a thickly taloned foot extended, but she did. And she grabbed her like a fish plucked from the water just as the tremor intensified, loosening stones above the steam-spewing fissure sliding heavily down to where Alori would have just been. Had the bird not intervened, Alori would have been roadkill for the cliffmice to gorge themselves on.

Durveth screeched, enormous wings flapping hard to get the lift needed to clear the mountain, all the while with the Inarta clasped in her foot safe from falling and safe from claws which were just as capable of rending flesh from the womans body. The eagle climbed for several moments before finally leveling herself out and simply soaring, eyes on the ground below and the human in her claw.

Then, Alori would feel it, the bird's mind in hers, talking.

~I hope you did not mind. You were about to be squished and your song was too interesting to let that happen.~

Steam continued to rise from various facets of the volcano, the shaking likewise continuing for several chimes as the bird (with many of her brethren) continued to fly. Durveth churred loudly when they passed another bird, wing tips brushing against one another and thoughts touching when that one glimpsed the Inartan in Durveths grasp.

~Finish the song.~

It was thought to Alori with little offer otherwise. What choice would the huntress have in the first place? Sing or possibly be dropped. These birds were seriously finnicky.

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[Alori Sai]

Alori flipped her hair back and away from her face and refocused her eyes on the strings of her guitar. It was working, the music was coming to her and another song was being created right there at the crack in the mountain. The teen was on fire inside, her heart thumping to the electric current racing through her body. The mark on her neck started to burn and for a brief moment she felt something. Alori's voice faded off into the distance, and the tiny girl looked up and around her.

She wasn't sure why, but something seemed to be happening around her. Looking down at her boots, she noticed something in the ground. pebbles were vibrating and slowly rolling in strange directions. Suddenly her perch felt much warmer and a feeling of foreboding swelled up inside. Alori wasn't sure why, but for some reason she was starting to regret coming the the place. She started to stand up, collecting her guitar into her arms when she was plucked off the ground in an instant.

The teen didn't even have enough time to yelp, before she was snatched up and haled away. With her breath and mind catching up to her, Alori heard the sound and looked back in shock as the spewing fissure rolled down the mountains side. The girl was speechless, had she angered Ivak by singing? She didn't know what to think, or even begin to realize anything beyond the large bulk of fur an talons that gripped her. She had been saved by a Wind Eagle, and a moment ago she didn't even knew there was one near by.

"What just happened??"

She chirped loudly, though not expecting an answer. Alori held tightly to her guitar and looked around her in awe and still with a bit of shock. They were so high up that she couldn't even tell exactly where she had been moments ago on the ground. Then it happened, that somewhat familiar strange feeling when the Wind Eagles entered a person's mind. She was surprised to hear that the eagle liked her song, and enough to drop in and save her life was a boost to her ego.

"Th-Thanks.."

Alori replied in her mind and aloud. She wasn't used to communicating with Eagles as others did and mostly only received one way thoughts. The request that followed was more than a surprise, and with all that had just happened, the teen was left in awe and confusion.

"Wait..what?"

Silence was the answer and without thinking much more, Alori's fingers turned and started to pull at the strings again. It was much more difficult to concentrate on playing or singing when she was worried that she would fall to her death. But she would try, she had to and with all of her emotion, the teen sang out into the air.

"I know that I have it inside me."


"The strength to rise and fly above."


"I know that with your grace"


"I can free myself and let it all go"


"I know that I don't understand."


"I know that I must be stronger"


"It's something you must have planned."


Her fingers started to feel numb, the air whipping passed her ears causing her to sing louder and play harder just so that she could hear herself. It was more for her than the Eagles, it seemed they had great hearing anyway, but for her to sing at her best she had to be able to hear her words so she'd know when to correct her tone as it slipped.


"But I won't be a puppet."


"I'll live my own way."


"So give me all you got,"


"I except the flames."


"and I won't stop"


"I can't give up"


"I want the fire"


"Oh the fire "

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[Harrier]

Eagles were not particularly known for the same range of emotion that humans and other sentient races had. They knew hungry and happy and angry and occasionally sadness, though the complexities in this were harder to translate. However, Durveth felt a surge of what she could only describe as exasperation at the human in her talons as she tried to belt the song. She knew the challenge of it given her position, but the bird did not particularly care; what she wanted to hear was the song itself, that which she so keenly felt from the little Inarta woman in her grasp.

To express this feeling that burst through her blood and across her feathers, the raptor quickly rolled, tucking her wings as they lost altitude. It was to frighten the human before the bird replied in her mind, ~Stop screaming, girl.~

The eagle leveled out then and performed a tricky maneuver, showing off her agility. Durveth rolled to the side, her wings tucking close to her ebony body so that the silver of her wing-joints showed off against her sides. From this vantage, she dipped and went into a slow dive, releasing Alori from her talons and shifting away from her. It would probably scare the living shyke out of the woman as the eagle simply drifted away from her then, going lower and faster. Occasionally the yellow and red face would tilt to show off a black eye to the Inartan as she soared under her, opening her wings slowly and eventually simply drifting up so that Alori would now be sat upon her back.

~You do not need to scream just because you're flying. Would you enjoy it if I screamed at you?~

The bird demonstrated by letting out a righteous bird-scream that echoed across the mountain faces and was answered by one of the other dire birds soaring in the distance. ~Finish the song.~

There was an urging in the way the bird pressed on her mind, trying to make her understand, "listening" for if this girl was...right. Was she worthy of salvation? Was she worthy to be chosen?

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[Alori Sai]

Alori was slowly getting the hang of it. The more the teen plucked at the strings and screamed to the winds, she could feel the music coming a bit easier and her voice leveling out along with it. It was working and she could see that the more that she went along, the better the words would come and the song as a whole. Or so she thought.. The Wind Eagle wasn't pleased with the song anymore, or just the way that it was sung.

"Oh..s-sorry I was just..!!"

The tiny Avora's voice sang out into the sky, not in song but in shock and fear as the Wind Eagle suddenly rolled and tucked in her wings for a wild nose dive. Alori clutched her guitar and grabbed the closest part of the Wind Eagle's foot that she could and held on tightly. The Avora's world was turned upside down and then back up right again with enough speed to make her dizzy beyond reason. Burying her head in, Alori closed her eyes and sucked in a breath, it was all she could do to drown out the dizziness.

"Ok, ok! I get it, I'll do better just let me..." she tried speaking through her mind, hoping that the eagle could hear and understand her.

Just then, she felt heavier suddenly, as if the meaty feet below her were giving away and the winds below them started to caress her back. "W-wait..no no no!"

Within the tick it took for the teen to realize was had happened, she had been released from the Wind Eagle's grip and thrown to the winds. Another loud scream escaped the girl's lips as she plummeted towards the mountain. What power the wind held, simply pushing and batting her around as if she were nothing but a feather in the breeze. Arms flailed and legs kicked, but nothing slowed her descend or gave her more control over her free fall. It seemed a cruel and somehow fitting fate for the teen to be done in by a Wind Eagle, and for a time she was sure that very thing would happen.

But even with the frustration, the fear and shock in the fact that she was about to die, there was something exciting in it all. Free fall through the winds, having no control over her body and her heart pounding so hard that she could feel it in her back. It was a true rush, and the tiny Avora lived in that moment, Alori screamed and she screamed loud, not only for the impending death that was to come, but for every petched up moment in her stupid little life.

The screaming huntress had lost sight of the Wind Eagle ticks ago and thought it had left her to her doom, until she felt it's warm, feathered back beneath her. She quickly rolled over, gripping her guitar tighter and digging her nails into the feathers and flesh of the eagle as she fought to hold on. Panting, the teach collapsed on the back of the bird, but continued to hold on as tightly as she could. The eagle continued to berate her then, even screaming at her. Alori squealed and lifted one hand to cover her head to drown out the screeching sound.

"Haahh!"

The frighten teen shivered, and held on tighter as the bird entered her mind again. Never in her life had she had to depend on her singing ability and the whole thing had her flustered to no end. The bird wanted her to finish the song, but how could see? Performing under such pressure was possibly the hardest thing she'd ever done. But she would try again, only without music. It was hard before to play as she had, but now while she clung to the back of the eagle it was impossible to use her guitar. The girl took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind enough so that her voice would follow through again.


"Just when I thought I was really alive."


"You burned me with your flame"


"Dared me to step outside myself and see the world anew"


She took a quick breath, her mind setting and focusing on what she wanted to sing. The winds whipped around her and the teen could barely hear her own voice, but she continued to sing on.


"Just when I thought I was going to die"


"As I stood trembling at your side"


Alori sang with her heart and soul, she wasn't worried about range only singing and releasing her inner thoughts and emotions. If this was to be her last song, she was going to sing for herself, not for Ivak or for the Wind Eagle threatening to drop her.


"You embraced me, and turned the tide."


"Now I know that I can survive"


"My passion burns and I am the fire."

x

[Harrier]

But for the wind and the occasional whoosh of the giant birds wings as they beat at the air, there was silence as Alori sang her song. She had ceased belting it and simply sang from the heart. And as Durveth soared, the bird turned her head slightly so that an oversized golden eye could look back at the firey headed girl clinging to her feathers.

The eye would hold for a moment, and then release, the eagle flapping towards a nearby peak until they crested it and tucked into an elegant dive towards a landing on the other side. It was near Sanikas Road and from here, the trade "tower" could be seen, the shallow ridges of its circle clearly defined from the sky. Again, the eagle screeched, greeting a fellow colony member below before soaring past them to a flat strip in the road itself.

Alori would feel Durveth alter her flight, body tilting vertical as legs extended and massive wings beating at the air until her feet touched the ground. Once balanced, she would lower herself and ruffle her feathers to make the Inartan loosen her grip and slide off before she began to speak.

~Was that really so hard? It's all I wanted you to do...Sing from your heart.~ There was a clucking noise from the bird as she shifted straight, flaring her wings broad once more and fluffing up proudly. When she tucked them close again, Durveth lowered to Alori's level and brought her head close, that slightly featherless face looking odd since few of the Wind Eagles had that kind of pattern (it could have been a result of the Djed Storm).

~You have quite the fire in you, girl. What is your name?~

x

[Alori Sai]

Alori's voice trailed off at the end of the song and she waited to see what would happen next. Would she be thrown off again in disapproval or had she satisfied the eagle, the girl wasn't sure. The anticipation was palpable in the least and the teen tighten her fist into the feathered back of the Wind eagle as she waited to be thumped off a second time.

It was incredible in a way and she remembered the first time that she had sang in the talent competition and how nervous she had been then. But that couldn't compare with the nervousness she felt while being placed in a situation of sing or fall. But there was a silver lining in this, the little Avora had been allowed to remember that day, to relive what it was like to release everything in her song and let go of it all. It was an amazing feeling and she couldn't believe that she had let it slip away from her.

Alori stayed silent, but the girl finally lifted her head enough to see the world around her. The rapid winds continued, tossing her fiery hair about her head and swirling locks across her face. But she could still see, through the tangled strains of red and gold, the sky above her and the horizon ahead. It took her a few ticks to get a good look around and realize where she was, and the sight of the tower was the first thing to catch her eye. Each time the eagle screeched, the teen jumped a bit and retook her grip. She didn't know what the screeching meant, but she was ready in case the eagle decided to try another dive.

And it came, another acrobatic dive and Alori felt her legs lifted, while her feet kicked uselessly into the air. She held on tighter now, and the thought crossed her mind to loose the guitar if only to keep her from falling off. The Wind eagle leveled off finally and she tired her best to grip the beast with her legs but to no avail. A wave of relief washed over her once she saw the ground below them and the girl smiled because of it. A sudden ruffle of her feathers and Alori gasped softly as she fought to grasp hold again, before she slid down the eagle's feathered body and landed on her backside.

"Ouch...petchin ea..."

The tiny huntress paused as the eagle spoke to her again, and it's words shocked her even now. To think the bird almost killed her because she didn't sing as her best was completely insane. It was true that because of the Wind eagle's actions, she had in a sense, rekindled the fire, but the cost was rather weighty. "Are you petchin kidding me?!? I could have died! Don't you even ca.." The teen froze as the bird started to cluck and turned to face her. It was an intimidating presences, that of the Wind eagle's and in the face of danger it was almost suffocating.

"I-I'm Alori. What do they call you?"

x

[Harrier]

~Alori...Funny name for a funny girl.~

The bird laughed at the Inartans expense, settling over her booted legs and covering those grand talons in the process while black-tipped beak clicked quietly closed. The eagles golden stare remained upon Alori as Durveth thought. Then, aloud, she replied, the chirps and trills of Nari reverberating.

"I am Durveth." It was an honor to be spoken to by an eagle in that fashion, one few Inartans achieved. That made the second bird in this season to speak in that fashion to the woman. "And I have a proposition for you." The bird turned her head away, crest flaring a-slight then smoothing back when the eagle returned sights to the woman. ~I am a fan of music, you see, and my aerie is sorely lacking in it. Those idiotic Dek cannot seem to keep from breaking my damn chimes...~

There was something slightly off about Durveth, and it wasn't just her strange feathering and face. The feel of Djed in the eagle was stronger than in others; perhaps it had reflected in the unusual appearance of the eagle. ~I have been looking for someone who might provide such...The hunts can get so lonely and boring when there's not but the wind beneath your wings.~

The raptor stretched her long neck closer to Alori, menacing of appearance but not of action now. ~My sister insists I find one who pleases me, but what could she possibly know of bonding...She chose a petching cripple. you seem fit enough, though, a bit small, but you held on far better than the last fool I inquired after. He had the misfortune to fall when I flew above Thunder Island. I vaguely recall hearing a crunch and splat. Oh well.~

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